Good morning!

My brakes went out on my 1998 Dakota 3.9L 2WD. I found the leak on the rear passenger side drum. I took the wheel off and had my wife push the brakes, it sprays brake fluid on the back-side (underneath the truck) of the drum -- it's spraying right out of where the line connects to the drum cylinder.

I initially thought the leak was coming from a faulty cylinder so I went ahead and bought one of those and intend to replace that, but now it looks like i need to replace that brake line as well.

Trouble is, I'm having a heck of a time finding a OEM part for the brake lines. I'm looking at the auto parts website and I'm seeing varying lengths of finished PVF pipe that say they MAY fit.

Question is... does anyone have any experience using the prefinished (pre-flared) PVF pipe, and would you know what size line/connectors I would need to replace the rear passenger side line?

Alternately, I did find one place on ebay that sells rear prebent OEM rear brake lines for 4WD daks. Would the rear brake lines be the same size/shape between 4WD/2WD?

Ideally, I would just go ahead and use PVF if I can figure out the right size, because then I wouldn't have to wait for shipping and I need to get this truck back on the road asap.

Thanks everyone for your help!!

 

Measure the line, take both ends of the bad line with you to the parts store, and get the line that is just a bit longer than what you actually need. (its a couple bucks.) Then just hand bend it to fit.

Another alternative would be to check out Stainless Steel brakes, and see if they don't have pre-bent lines for you.

You are going to have to bleed your brakes, which means getting all the bleeder valves open. Given the age of the truck, it's likely that some are going to break, rather than open. Dousing them with PB Blaster after cleaning them up some helps, but, doesn't always work...... So, before going to the parts store, see how many are actually going to open. If they break, it easier to just replace the wheel cylinder/caliper, than it is to dry and drill it out..... (that, and wheel cylinders are dirt cheap, calipers are merely cheap. )

And of course, if you need to replace the OTHER wheel cylinder because the bleeder broke, you can bet the line on THAT side is going to break when you try and remove it as well. (yeah, just a bundle of good news, ain't I?)

Burst brake lines on older vehicles tends to be 'the project that keeps on giving'....... Sorry man.

 

for most truck i have done:

if a single line is run to the rear axle and then splits to the left and right side the single line is 1/4" and the lines on the axle are 3/16".

if its a 4 channel abs system with 2 line from the abs pump to the rear...each line will be 3/16

if you going to buy tubing and flare it yourself...get cupric/nickel line. Its a little more expensive but will not rust. Its easy to bend and easy to flare. make sure its secured/zip tied so it does not vibrate or move with vehicle movement. If you use steel lines or zinc coated steel lines; cover them with rocker guard or they will have surface rust in 6 months time.

if you live in a rust belt and drive old cars...just buy a on car tubing bender and flaring tool...make your own lines